Help me find my ideal slipjoint

Planterz

Planterz

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Mar 26, 2004
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I've recently become more interested in traditional knives, but the the sheer number of patterns and makers has got my head swimming. So rather than wade through the thousands of knives google brings up, I thought I'd appeal to the collective knowledge of the Trad forum to narrow my search down.

I've narrowed my desires down to two knives that I'd like to find.

First knife:
Some sort of whittler, congress, or stockman.
  • 3.5-4.5" closed length
  • 2 backsprings thick
  • Jigged bone handles, amber, red, chestnut, or brown (nothing gaudy or bright). Some sort of horn would be OK if it's suitably dark, or a nice hardwood
  • No duplicate blades
  • No spey blades (I don't do much neutering of livestock these days)
  • If it has a sheepsfoot blade, the pointier it is, the better
  • Quality stainless steel. 440C or better, or D2. No "surgical" or no-name stainless, or soft 420HC. No carbon steel (I ride a bike everywhere, so it'd rust from sweat, and I'm not all that fond of the patina look).
  • Made in USA preferably, but not a necessity.
  • Minimal amount of writing/logos on blades preferred

Second knife:
Two blades, same length (don't know what you would call these patterns)
  • Size, handle materials, blade steels, etc same as first knife
  • One blade a clip or spearpoint blade
  • Other blade a wharncliffe
  • Blades are either on opposite sides, with handles being symmetrical on each side, or
  • Blades are on same pivot, but still has a bolster on the butt end

Price around $150 or less, and hopefully readily available - I'd rather not have to search high and low.

Thanks.
 
Is potentially having to sharpen the blades yourself out of the box acceptable or not?

Also, is the $150 for both knives together or could each potentially cost that much?


-- Nate
 
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3 blades - Queen stockman in D2 - several sizes

2 blades - Hawbaker muskrat is a choice, though possibly a bit skinny for you - if so, the elk furtaker from GEC in 440c is an idea - and a wonderful one at that :)
 
jujigatame said:
Is potentially having to sharpen the blades yourself out of the box acceptable or not?
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Obviously I'd prefer it sharp out of the box, but if the knife is otherwise good enough, I wouldn't mind sharpening it, since any knife I own and use eventually gets reprofiled anyway.

Also, is the $150 for both knives together or could each potentially cost that much?
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Each.
Noddy said:
3 blades - Queen stockman in D2 - several sizes
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Words can't describe how much I don't want a spey blade. To me it's a superfluous blade. Yes, I know it can be used for other things than castrating livestock, but I really just don't like the blade shape (or any blade shape with a big belly). I'd rather have a pen blade (like Case does on some of their stockman - if only the came in better stainless steel) or a small clip, or just go with a 2 blade knife. Otherwise a Queen stockman would be at the top of my list.

2 blades - Hawbaker muskrat is a choice, though possibly a bit skinny for you - if so, the elk furtaker from GEC in 440c is an idea - and a wonderful one at that :)
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These are looking promising. I hadn't heard of the Hawbaker muskrat (just the regular muskrat with duplicate blades) nor the elk furtaker. I wasn't aware GEC knives were available in 440C - all the ones I've seen were 1095.

Thanks, keep 'em coming!
 
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Boker uses 440C and has a very good HT on their knives, Queen uses D2. Both make a good stockman and congress, though be prepared to spend an hour or four sharpening up Queen's D2 cause they don't come sharp. I think GEC also makes an stockman in 440C.

The only leads on the second knife is a Queen 2 blade congress in D2, or probably more preferable by you is the GEC Furtaker. However the GEC furtaker runs about 100+$.

Edit: so I posted a bit late to see these knives have already been recommended, and that you hate the spey blade. However I'd like to make an appeal for the spey blade and its uses.

In my mind the clip and wharncliff are "work" blades that I keep at a decent but not exactly razor edge angle. The role of the scalpel I delegate to the spey blade.

My common uses are:
1. Cutting the cap off of a cigar, I find a SHARP knife to be more versatile and just plain handy.
2. (might not have any relevance to you) INSPECTIONS! Every time there's an inspection you better believe you're gonna have some idiot in your group with IPs flying all over the place, for this the belly lets me precisely cut the ip at the base without cutting any of the surrounding fabric
3. Shave touch-ups. I can't stand that one lone missed whisker ruining a good shave, I somehow manage to over look one till I'm already far from home.
4. Skinning! I have a guess you might not do this much however.
 
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Noddy said:
3 blades - Queen stockman in D2 - several sizes

2 blades - Hawbaker muskrat is a choice, though possibly a bit skinny for you - if so, the elk furtaker from GEC in 440c is an idea - and a wonderful one at that :)
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I have to agree on the GEC furtaker. I received one yesterday,and am very very pleased. With two blades only, one Wharnie/Sheeps foot and one Clip blade,its all a fella really needs. The knife fills the hand nicely, not so thin that you loose the ergonomics of the handle.
 
Javelin said:
The only leads on the second knife is a Queen 2 blade congress in D2, or probably more preferable by you is the GEC Furtaker. However the GEC furtaker runs about 100+$.
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wildmike said:
GEC Furtaker Trapper.
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I also just came across the Muskrat Furtaker. Looks like they're practically identical to the Trapper, just with the blades on opposing ends rather than side-by-side. I'd probably prefer the Muskrat arrangement because using either blade it'll be closer to the obverse side (when in hand), where I'd prefer it for better control.
 
Like you I'm getting more interested in the traditionals and know little to nothing about them. Unlike you though I can't really describe exactly what I do, or don't, want. I just have to keep looking at different things and then deciding if I like the look of it or not.

I'm not especially concerned about handle or blade materials, I'll go with whatever looks good to me. At the moment my daily "office" EDC is the 2009 forum knife, I like it a lot.

.
 
For the whittler I would look at the Queen Dan Burke 1/2 Whittler. 3 3/4inch(sorry, I misread it. It's actually only 3 1/4in) with a beauty of a wharncliffe. I don't know anything about the Sandvik 12C27 they used though.
 
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gajinoz said:
Like you I'm getting more interested in the traditionals and know little to nothing about them. Unlike you though I can't really describe exactly what I do, or don't, want. I just have to keep looking at different things and then deciding if I like the look of it or not.
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I've been a "knife guy" for the last 15 years - half my life - and apart from a few SAKs, I've had almost exclusively modern "tactical" folders. But after receiving a few of my grandpa's old pocket knives (a few stockmen and a barlow), I've felt a strong yen to go back to the "old ways". I don't know why, but lately I enjoy pulling out one of those old slipjoints (even though they're fairly low quality) to do some mundane cutting task rather than whipping out my Benchmade or Spyderco. It's hard to describe, but using a traditional slipjoint instead of a modern knife feels more legitimate and honest. Besides, it's not like a traditional slipjoint can't do 99% of the daily tasks I'd need a knife for.

With all the different handle materials and blade patterns, I can see how collecting traditionals can become an expensive hobby, even if you're only buying new knives, never mind older production ones.
 
protourist said:
For the whittler I would look at the Queen Dan Burke 1/2 Whittler. 3 3/4inch(sorry, I misread it. It's actually only 3 1/4in) with a beauty of a wharncliffe. I don't know anything about the Sandvik 12C27 they used though.
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12C27 is what they use in most Laguioles these days. I believe it's what old Benchmade/PCC Bali-Songs used. Similar to 440 series, but finer grained. I'd be OK with 12C27. The Dan Burke looks nice, although I'd prefer more or larger blades. Is the Dan Burke a single backspring? If so, it's something I'd definitely consider, but if it's 2 springs, I'd rather have something that crammed more blade/blades in the same space (something like a Case Seahorse Whittler - if only they made those in better stainless).
 
One thing that has recently increased my interest is the 20th anniversary AKC knife that I just received. This is a "traditional" Australian knife, and it's somehow very pleasing to know that my great grandfather most probably had something very like this in his pocket.

I think the traditionals just have more character than modern knives. Still, our modern knives will probably be "traditional" in 100 years time. :)



AKC-clubknife-20th.jpg



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I'm not sure if it has one or two backsprings. I have been looking at it because it reminds me of the Seahorse and I really like the pattern. Hopefully someone that has one will chime in. Mike Latham has one so maybe he'll let us both know.
 
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Aside from being only one backspring, these Queens could be two to consider.

The secondary blade on both knives is a pen blade, but the half-congress has a much slimmer pen (around 3/8 inch from spine to cutting edge, where the canoe is about a half inch).

The half-congress has half stops where the canoe doesn't.

These two take up 95% of my EDC time.
 
What is the advantage of having half-stops? The only knives I have with half-stops are SAKs on the bottle-opener/flathead. I understand having one on that blade, since having a half-stop allows you to crank on a stubborn screw with extra leverage. Do GECs have half-stops?
 
Some GEC's have half stops and some don't.

I have been keeping a list of the GEC's that have half stops and the GEC's that don't. Whenever someone posts about a GEC that I don't own myself, I try to remember to ask them about half stops so I can update my list.

I own a #53 Muskrat and it does not have half stops. According to my list, the #53 Furtaker Trapper does not have half stops.

Not sure about #53 Muskrat Furtaker but I'm guessing that all #53 patterns are produced without half stops. That's only a guess though.

IMO, half stops are a matter of personal preference.

It's usually not a deal breaker for me but I prefer slippies without half stops.
 
Rick T., you're right about the #53s, but the #54s do have half-stops, at least the 2-blade Punch Jack and Big Jack, and the 3-blade Cigar Whittler.
 
You'll have a hard time finding a big stockman without a spey blade. A nice big Schatt & Morgan gunstock stockman is a nice knife. IMO the spey isn't much different than a pen blade that size. You can always reprofile any blade. Smaller stockmans tend to have a pen or awl blade as their third blade. You probably wouldn't like half stops if you were into tacticals that were bushed.I have a hard time liking them.
A Queen City canoe would fit the bill for a beefy but thin two blade.
 
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